'Yall Come On In!
Last night the ministry staff and Shepherds of my church met at 7:30, with our families, and made sandwiches. We drove downtown (Fort Worth) and passed out the sandwiches and water bottles to people living on the streets and in the communities of The Presbyterian Night Shelter and the Walk-In Shelter, both near the intersection of Cypress and Presidio.
First let me say that in no way do we think we solve long term problems when we do this. No way. We are just helping some folks (many of whom are addicts and quite happy to be on the street) have something to eat and drink. In Matthew 25 Jesus does not imply that the righteous solved everyone's problem. They just gave the hungry something to eat, the thirsty something to drink, invited the stranger in, gave clothes to people who needed clothes, looked after the sick, and visited the imprisoned, all without fanfare or any hint of self approval.
Besides, I think going downtown and being in the street for 45 minutes or so does more for us than the people we meet.
Jerry Pipes and I prayed with Stanley, an addict who says he's going to rehab tomorrow. We walked away encouraged and hopeful. It was a blessing for me to see Jerry in that situation, telling Stanley after we prayed to, "Go get 'em tomorrow."
Scooter Cox gave Tina (who was either high or at the high end of a manic depressive episode) a huge hug, which is hard for Scooter (who is tiny) to do for Tina (who is large). But she managed to give the hug, no matter. That was great to see.
Most in our group were able to go into the Walk-In and see the tiny spaces many people are living in, talk with the residents and connect with many of them. These shelters are a quick 20 minute drive from our church building. It's the best way I know for us to be touched by people who are so close but so very far from us.
My favorite story from the night is when Stan Scott inadvertently invited about a dozen men inside the Walk-In. He and I had walked the block down to the front of the shelter to see if we could get inside to give water and sandwiches away. When the two guys in charge gave the OK, I started back down the block to tell the others in our group to come our way with the sacks. Scotty just held the door open and hollered, in the general direction of the street, "Hey, 'yall come on in!"
I'm quite sure there was some reason that particular group had not already been allowed in the shelter. But each of them quickly made their move inside and out of the cold at Stan's surprise invitation! It all worked out. The guys at the desk didn't seem to mind and were, evidently, able to easily uninvite the characters who, for whatever reason, were not supposed to have come in.
I loved Stan's enthusiasm. He's a great Shepherd and a tremendously fun man to be with. His spirit and laughter are contagious.
It was a great night. My wife and kids said, when we got home, how much they loved it. I'm sure everyone who went feels the same way. By the way, I'm going to have Stan give the invitation at church next Sunday. With his results, why not?!
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.
Taken from, with permission:
http://simsdanny.blogspot.com/2005/02/yall-come-on-in.html
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